Railway hopper car

ABSTRACT

A hopper car is provided having a plurality of discharge gates on the bottom side of the car to allow material to be discharged from within the car. The hopper car has a pair of trucks attached to its bottom side and with each truck positioned adjacent one of the opposing end walls. One of the discharge gates is provided on the bottom of the car between the trucks for dispensing material between the trucks. Another of the discharge gates is provided between at least one of the end walls and its adjacent truck for dispensing material between the truck and the sidewall.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to a railway hopper car for transporting loads of bulk materials.

[0002] Hopper cars in commercial rail service in the United States generally include a plurality of gates arranged along the bottom of the car between a pair of dual axle trucks. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,511. Lower portions of the interior walls of the cars are typically sloped downward and inward to the edges of the gates so that the lading will flow downward to the gates. The gates typically move between open and closed positions by sliding, pivoting, or rotating. In some hopper cars, pneumatic systems are employed to assist in discharge of the lading, either by application of a vacuum to a discharge opening, or by pressurizing the car interior.

[0003] Many hopper cars are single units, with couplers on opposite ends. Such cars have been manufactured by Thrall Car Manufacturing Company and other manufacturers for many years. Articulated hopper cars comprising two or more units joined by articulated connectors are also known. One articulated car is known as the “Trough Train.” In this car, the upper ends of adjacent units are open, and the sides of adjacent units are joined, to enable coal to be carried over the articulation.

[0004] In order to be suitable for commercial rail service in the United States, a railway hopper car must have sufficient load capacity both in terms of the weight and the volume of lading that it is capable of carrying, and must be capable of stable travel at normal speeds on tracks of a variety of configurations, both when loaded and when unloaded. The car must also have an acceptable braking system, and must have a profile that conforms with AAR requirements. The empty weight of the car must not be excessive, and reductions in the weight of the empty car are generally desirable. It is a general object of the invention to provide a hopper car that is suitable for commercial rail service and has increased load capacity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The invention provides a railway hopper car unit having increased capacity.

[0006] In one embodiment, increased capacity is obtained by positioning a discharge opening adjacent each end of the unit, between the truck and the end of the car. The end walls in this embodiment extend vertically upward from the outer edge of the end gate on each unit. That is, a truck is positioned between the doors of the end discharge gate to improve utilization of volume capacity at the ends of the car. Each unit may be supported by a pair of single axle truck assemblies, with a plurality of discharge openings and doors disposed therebetween. The truck assemblies may be spaced from one another along the length of the car in a manner that permits more even distribution of axle loads along the car length as compared with prior art cars employing dual axle trucks. In one particular embodiment, the unit has 125-ton equivalent axle loads. That is, each axle supports a load of about 78,750 lbs.

[0007] In a second embodiment, articulated connectors join two or more units at shared trucks, and single axle trucks are employed at the ends of the car.

[0008] In some embodiments, the car may be capable of carrying over 5,200 lbs. of coal per linear foot of train length. In one particular embodiment, the car is capable of carrying about 5,234 lbs. per unit length. This represents an improvement of about 18% as compared with prior art cars capable of carrying 4,431 lbs./ft.

[0009] The units may be arranged in a three-unit articulated car, with the units being joined to one another by articulated connectors, drawbars, or other means that reduce the spacing between units as compared with conventional couplers. In the alternative, the car may comprise only a single unit, or may comprise two units, or four or more units. The ends of the hopper car are preferably provided with conventional couplers for connection to adjacent railcars.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010]FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a railcar in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention.

[0011]FIG. 2 is an end view of the hopper-car of FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2.

[0012]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the hopper car of FIG. 1, taken along line 3-3.

[0013]FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic partial side elevation of the hopper car of FIG. 1 illustrating selected internal components and showing some of the hopper doors in open position.

[0014]FIG. 5 is a side elevation of a railcar in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention.

[0015] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] The invention is preferably embodied in a railway hopper car 10 for carrying coal or other loads. The car may comprise a single unit, or may comprise a plurality of units. In a first embodiment, the car 10 comprises three connected hopper car units 12, 14 and 16. Each of the illustrated hopper car units 12, 14 and 16 is supported on a pair of single axle truck assemblies 18.

[0017] The units are substantially the same, except that the end units 12 and 16 are preferably equipped with conventional couplers at their outer ends, whereas the middle unit 14 is connected to the end units with more compact connection mechanisms such as drawbars, articulated connectors, or the like. Only end unit 16 is described in detail herein.

[0018] End unit 16 includes a center sill 20 extending the length of the car, and one or more transverse structural members 22 coupled to the center sill. The lading is contained by side walls 26 and 28 and end walls 24, in conjunction with a plurality of gates 38 having doors arranged in series on opposite sides of the center sill. Top chords 32 extend along the upper edges of the side walls 26 and 28, and a horizontal transverse structural member 30 extends across the top of each end wall 24, to add stiffness and rigidity. Side sills 34 and 36 extend along the bottom of the side walls 26 and 28.

[0019] The side walls and end walls extend the full height of the car. The end walls of adjacent units are spaced from each other along their full heights.

[0020] Each gate 38 comprises a pair of doors 40, one on each side of the center sill. Each door is pivotable about a transverse axis between an upper, closed position and a lower, open position. The gates are arranged in pairs with each pair of gates having their upper ends and pivot axes adjacent each other. Transverse hoods 44 and 45 with sloped walls are positioned between and slightly above each adjacent pair of gates. The hoods direct flow of the lading toward the gates, and enclose space near the bottom of the unit which may be used to enclose pneumatic cylinders to operate gates and/or brakes, as well as for other equipment. In some embodiments, a plurality of separate, relatively small gate actuation cylinders and associated gate actuation mechanisms are provided, with one for each gate positioned beneath the transverse hood adjacent the gate. In other embodiments, a single cylinder for two or more gates may be enclosed within one of the hoods, or in another location. Similarly, brake cylinders and associated equipment may be arranged under the transverse hoods or elsewhere. In some embodiments, a pair of separate brake cylinders is provided for each unit, with one brake cylinder associated with each axle. In these embodiments, each brake cylinder is positioned within the hood above its associated axle.

[0021] Vertical side wall posts 43 support and stabilize respective side walls 26 and 28. As shown in FIG. 3, additional support is provided by diagonal braces 58 and 60 extending upward and outward from a structural member near the bottom of the car body to T-shaped members 62 and 64 on respective sidewalls 26 and 28 in proximity to their upper edges. A manual brake wheel 52 (FIG. 2) is provided at the free end of the unit.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, the single axle truck assemblies are much smaller than the dual axle trucks commonly used in prior art hopper cars, which avoids the need to provide long slope sheets over the truck assembles, and enables each of the trucks to be positioned between a respective pair of gates without undue loss of lading volume. This enables more volume per foot of train length to be used for carrying the lading. Suitable single axle trucks are believed to be available from ABC-NACO Inc. and/or from other sources.

[0023] A longitudinal hood 66 having downwardly sloping sides extends above the center sill 20 to facilitate gravity discharge of the lading toward the gates. The longitudinal hood 66 intersects transverse hoods 44 and 45.

[0024] The tranverse hoods 44 (FIG. 4) near the ends of the unit are similar to each other, and are larger than the central transverse hood 45, due to the increased spacing between the gates near the ends of the unit. Hood 44 comprises first and second surfaces 68 sloping downward from a ridge 70. End hopper gate doors 40 are mounted between the end hoods 44 and the adjacent end walls 24.

[0025] The center hood 45 is positioned midway between the end walls of the car, and is similar in shape to the end hoods 44, having first and a second surfaces 72 sloping downward from a ridge 74. Each of the hoods 44 and 45 intersects sidewalls 26 and 28.

[0026] One particular embodiment is described in detail below for purposes of example. This embodiment comprises a three unit car having an overall length of about 75 ft. between the pulling faces of the couplers. Each unit has an inside length of 22 ft. 11 in., an inside height of 9 ft. 10{fraction (3/16)} in., and an inside width of 9 ft. 10½ in. The car has a volume capacity of about 2261.5 cubic feet per unit, and an empty weight of about 26,650 lbs. per unit. Where the car is used for carrying coal, density of the lading may be estimated at between 52.7 and 57.9 lbs. per cubic ft. More specifically, the density is estimated at 52.7 lbs. per cubic ft. with heap, and 57.9 lb. per cubic ft. without heap. Where the lading density is at the high end of this range, the weight capacity of the car will be about 392,735 lb., or about 5235 lb. per ft. Based on the above assumptions, the gross weight of the car will be about 472,770 lbs. Assuming the car is traveling on track capable of carrying loads of up to a limit of 78,750 lbs. per axle, the car will have sufficient volume capacity to carry up to the maximum load per axle. On each unit, the axles are spaced from one another by 14 ft. 8¼ in. The axles on the ends of adjacent units are spaced from one another by 8 ft. 10¾ in. This provides greater spacing between the closest axles than in cars using conventional two axle trucks with 6 ft. spacing between axles. Consequently, the loads in the car of this embodiment are distributed more evenly. The wheels are preferably of 36 in. diameter, although wheels of 38 in. diameter may also be employed.

[0027]FIG. 5 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention wherein, instead of employing single axle trucks at both ends, each of the end units shares a truck with the middle unit at an articulated connection.

[0028] The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, nor to any particular embodiments. Rather, the invention is described and particularly pointed out by the following claims. 

We claim:
 1. A railway hopper car unit capable of transporting loads of bulk commodities in commercial rail service, said unit comprising: first and second side walls; first and second end walls; a first truck assembly and a second truck assembly, each of said first and second truck assemblies having at least one axle; said first truck assembly being proximate to said first end wall; said second truck assembly being proximate said second end wall; a first discharge gate between said first end wall and said first truck assembly; and a second discharge gate between said first and second truck assemblies.
 2. A railway hopper car unit in accordance with claim 1 wherein at least one of said truck assemblies has only a single axle.
 3. A railway hopper car unit in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said truck assemblies has only a single axle.
 4. A railway hopper car unit in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first end wall extends substantially vertically upward from said first gate.
 5. A railway hopper car unit in accordance with claim 1 comprising a plurality of discharge gates between said first and second truck assemblies.
 6. A railway hopper car unit in accordance with claim 1 comprising a hood over said first truck assembly, said hood comprising first and second walls defining a ridge over said axle.
 7. A railway hopper car unit in accordance with claim 6 wherein a brake cylinder is disposed under said hood.
 8. A railway hopper car unit in accordance with claim 7 wherein gate actuation cylinder is disposed under said hood. 